c. layer of the sun’s atmosphere that looks like a haloduring an eclipse

d. areas of gas on the sun’s surface that are cooler thanthe areas around them

e. eruptions that occur when the loops in sunspotregions suddenly connect

f. stream of electrical particles from the sun

g. center of the sun

h. outermost layer of the sun’s interior

i. joining of hydrogen atoms to form helium

93D

Name Date Class

The Sun

Sunspot Clues

Although sunspots were once unexplained blemishes on the sun’s surface, their behavior has helpedsolve some of the sun’s mysteries. One of these mysteries dealt with the rotation of the sun. Did itrotate, as did other objects in the solar system? And, if it did rotate, what was its period of rotation?Astronomers helped answer these questions by observing the behavior of sunspots.

1. How have astronomers inferred that the sun rotates?

2. What direction does the sun rotate?

3. Sunspots at the equator take 26.9 days to move once around the sun.What can you infer about how long sunspots A and B take to movearound the sun, compare to sunspot C, which is on the equator?

4. Why do astronomers say that the sun rotates once every27 to 31 days, rather than give an exact number?

93E

Name Date Class

The Sun

Write the letter of the correct answer on the line at the left.

1. Areas of gas on the sun’s surface thatare cooler than the gases around themare called

a solar flares

b sunspots

C solar wind

d prominences

3. Huge loops of gas that link differentparts of sunspot regions are called

a solar flares

b supra-sunspots

C solar wind

d prominences

2. Large eruptions of gas from the sunout into space are called

a solar flares

b sunspots

C solar wind

d prominences

4. The sun produces energy through

a fission

b fusion

C photovoltaic cells

d photosynthesis

Fill in the blank to complete each statement.

5. The sun’s layers, from innermost to outermost, are the core, , and convection zone.

6. You see the when you look at an image of the sun.

7. You see the middle layer of the sun’s atmosphere, the , at thestart and end of a total eclipse.

8. The corona sends out a stream of charged particles called the .

9. The solar wind can interact with Earth’s magnetic field to create powerful electriccurrents that cause near the poles.